Hofstra falls despite Moore's outburst

Despite 47 points from seniors Mike Moore and Nathaniel Lester, the Hofstra men's basketball team lost to Rhode Island, 85-73, in a TicketCity Legends Classic matchup Friday in Kingston, R.I.

Moore had 25 points and Lester added 22 points and seven rebounds for Hofstra (2-3), which cut a 19-point deficit to three before URI pulled away.

Junior forward Bryant Crowder had three dunks, scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in 18 minutes before fouling out in his Hofstra debut and first Division I game. The 6-10 Crowder, who had 11 points in the second half, got the Pride within 59-56 with an uncontested one-handed slam, but Hofstra would not get any closer.

Jonathan Holton had 20 points, Nikola Malesevic 18, Jamal Wilson 15 and Orion Outerbridge 11 for the Rams (1-3). Outerbridge also had eight rebounds.

With Hofstra trailing 73-69, Rhode Island drew back-to-back fouls and hit three free throws for a seven-point advantage with 3:20 left. Outerbridge then drilled a left-wing jumper to end any hopes of a Hofstra comeback.

Rhode Island went on a 16-0 run to open a 22-6 lead, keeping Hofstra scoreless for almost five minutes.

Using heavy pressure on inbounds plays as part of an effective full-court press, the Rams were able to capitalize on multiple chances, highlighted by Holton's two-handed dunk to complete an alley-oop. The Rams went ahead 37-18 with 7:37 left in the first half.

But Moore scored the game's next 12 points in a span of 92 seconds, beginning with a four-point play. He hit two more three-pointers and a jumper to move Hofstra within 37-30. Moore shot 4-for-5 from three-point range in the half as Hofstra moved within 45-39 at halftime.

Hofstra junior guard Stevie Mejia, who played two seasons for URI, had three points and two assists against his former team.